Surprising Occupy Surprises Even Cynical Me
From the very beginning, the Occupy movement has been one surprise after another. The scale of the turnout in lower Manhattan is said to have stunned the AdBusters crew. The scale of peripheral support that came to the major protests surprised the activist core. The scale of the police response surprised the major media that [...]
High Stakes Testing: Not So Hot
Last week friend of the blog, Dan McGowan at GoLocal, asked: Everyone agree that “teaching to the test” is a bad idea, but it makes no sense to get rid of standardized tests that could determine whether a student is eligible to graduate… Why not continue to test, but also offer the right interventions that [...]
Racial profiling in Rhode Island
According to a study by Northeastern University, African American and Latino motorists were more than twice as likely to be searched after being pulled over for a traffic stop in Rhode Island. Think there’s racial profiling in Rhode Island? The study certainly seems to suggest as much, and a number of state legislators and the [...]
Ahlquist wins; Cranston School Committee declines appeal
The Cranston School Committee voted 5 to 2 last night not to appeal a judge’s ruling that a prayer banner doesn’t belong in a public school. While it’s pretty obviously a violation of the Establishment Clause (separation of church and state) of the Constitution to hang a prayer banner in a public high school, two [...]
Let school prayer banner issue go away, Cranston
The Cranston School Committee will decide tonight whether or not it wants to continue embarrassing the state in voting if it wants to appeal the school prayer banner case. Here’s hoping they decide to do the right thing and not fight the ruling, won by high school junior Jessica Ahlquist, that the prayer banner must [...]
Marriage equality back on State House agenda
Same sex couples in Rhode Islanders will have another opportunity at equal protection under the law as Rep. Art Handy, D-Cranston, will again introduce a bill in the General Assembly that would afford the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts enjoy. “Every year we move forward,” Handy said, who has introduced a similar bill [...]
RI Voters’ Poll: Seeking Major Changes In Marijuana Policy
A new poll of 714 Rhode Island Voters indicates overwhelming support for medical marijuana, compassion centers, and decriminalization of less than one ounce of the plant. The medical marijuana law, gone unused by Rep. Bob Watson (if he were to qualify) garnered support of 72%, including a whopping 82% of Dems, 61% GOP, and 57% [...]
One More Step Toward Prop 8′s Doom
In the summer of 2010, when I skimmed Judge Walker’s ruling on Prop 8, I said, “It’s all over but the crying.” The 9th Circuit’s decision on February 7, 2012 was another inevitable move in the legal end-game of marriage equality. I also predicted that the US Supreme Court would decline to hear the case. I’m sticking to [...]
Occupy Providence and the Right’s Selective Support of the 1st Amendment
Occupy Providence has the fringe-right all in a tizzy over an incident in which condoms were dropped on a anti-choice rally at the State House, spawning not one but two diaries calling for criminal charges to protect the religious right from the inconvenience of being confronted with opposing views. Here’s Justin nearly hyperventilating over a [...]
Philadelphia-based Feminist Media Activist Group Led By Providence Native, Nuala Cabral, Launches Campaign Supporting Ethnic Studies in Arizona
Click here to check out my recent interview with Nuala Cabral and Denice Frohman of FAAN Mail, a Philadelphia-based media activist group that has launched a social media campaign (on Twitter, primarily, #WishiLearnedinHS), “Wished I Learned in High School,” in response to policies in Arizona restricting ethnic studies programs. Cabral is graduate of Moses Brown [...]
How To Confront a Candidate, or How to Drink Liberally.
It is often bemoaned that candidates only talk about certain issues, only debate the same topics, and hardly ever disagree on anything of true substance. “My economic package is better than yours.” “I’m tougher on our enemies than the other guy.” Blah, blah, blah. When we consider that Obama, Bush, and McCain all agreed on [...]
Three Providence Leaders to be Inducted into the 9th Annual MLK Hall of Fame
Mayor Angel Taveras will induct three leaders whose actions have had a significant impact on the lives of Providence residents into the 2012 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall of Fame on Wednesday, February 1 at 7 pm in the City Council Chambers at Providence City Hall. Leo DiMaio, founder of the College Readiness [...]
Imagination, Collective Struggle, and the Inclusion of Artists and Ordinary People: Angela Davis Speaks at RISD in Providence
PROVIDENCE, RI – Click on the image above to hear a short podcast with Dr. Angela Davis. It is from a brief interview I conducted with her after a keynote address she gave on Monday, June 23, 2012 at Rhode Island School of Design. More information about her talk is below; in the podcast/interview, I [...]
“Since Roe”: the decision that made all the difference still needs support
On January 22, 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. The decision ensured that the right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution permits a woman to choose whether to continue a pregnancy or to have a safe and legal abortion. This historic ruling recognizes that women [...]
SOPA/PIPA Dead, At Least For Now
Huge win for the Internet, its users, and democracy. LA Times: The SOPA online piracy bill that helped spark this week’s unprecedented Internet protests will be redrafted, its lead sponsor said Friday. The move came shortly after the Senate postponed a key vote on the companion PIPA bill scheduled for next week and amid calls [...]
Principles are Worth More than Political Awards
You may have heard about our recent letter to General Treasurer Gina Raimondo requesting that she return an award from The Manhattan Institute, an extremist right wing group that promotes offensive, ignorant and hurtful positions towards the LGBTQI community, women, minorities, and our environment. Marriage Equality Rhode Island was among a group of organizations that [...]
Understanding The Intersection of Race, Music and Politics
(RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS) – If I were to describe some of the events I have coming up as political, I’m sure someone would ask me, “hey Reza, what is political about an event featuring spoken word poetry and world rhythms?” This is the type of question I love to answer, though, sadly, few seem to [...]
RI Choice Coalition Recognizes Pro-Choice Leaders and Works to Ensure Health Care Access for all Rhode Islanders
It was a fitting day for the Rhode Island Choice Coalition to rally support for health care access considering the White House Report that was just released recognizing the state for being the top recipient of federal support totaling $64 Million for establishing a health care exchange. The main theme however, was a commemoration [...]
Santorum and Romney Square Off On Felon Disenfranchisement
Rick Santorum asked Mitt Romney point blank: “Do you believe people who were felons, who served their time, who exhausted their parole and probation, should be given the right to vote?” This was in response to an ad by Romney’s “Super-PAC” attacking the former Pennsylvania senator. The ad says Mr. Santorum voted to “let convicted felons vote” [...]
Girl at the Center of the Cranston “Prayer Banner” Case targeted by Cyber-Bullies
Upfront let me say that I am proud to be an uncle to the amazing Jessica Ahlquist, the student who two days ago won her case against the City of Cranston over an unconstitutional “prayer banner” on display at her school. It was not only a victory for Jessica, but a victory for everyone in [...]
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